Stoeger Air Rifles - New and Good!

Stephen shooting a Stoeger X50 Scope Combo.

Stoeger air rifles are new to the Internet and Archer Airguns is proud to have been appointed an official Stoeger Airguns dealer by Benelli USA. To start, we're offering the X10, X20 and X50 models. These airguns are made in China by BAM and they're really good spring-powered air rifles for the fair price that's being asked.

All Stoeger air rifles benefit from a 2 year warranty and most of them are fitted with ready-mounted airgun rated scopes that are bore sighted at the factory. This means that you can take your Stoeger air rifle combo out of its box, start shooting immediately with the scope and be on target.

And, Archer Airguns will stand behind the performance with our "Gold Service" testing - for a small additional charge the rifle will be inspected and test fired. "Gold Service" tested guns will be supplied with a test target showing accuracy, muzzle velocity and trigger pull. You can read more on our site.

The X10 and X20 models shoot lead free pellets at very close to the claimed muzzle velocity of 1200 fps, while the monster X50 model shoots them at 1500 fps.

As you will expect, I've undertaken extensive testing before introducing the X10, X20 and X50 air rifles and will share this information soon on this blog.

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So How Many Shots Do I Get With My XP Tune Kit?

This is our third post on the new Archer Airguns "XP" Tune Kit. You can see the others by using the search box and scrolling down the page.

Several people have asked for more detail on the number of shots available from one set of Powerlets when using this tune kit. The graph below shows shows the muzzle velocities for 47 shots fired from our QB78 Deluxe test gun in .22 caliber. As you can see, muzzle velocity remains fairly consistent until shot 35 and then falls off rapidly. Normally, .177 guns give more shots per fill and I would expect the same with the "XP" Tune Kit, although I've not tested that yet.

The left axis of the graph shows the muzzle velocity per shot, the horizontal axis indicates the number of shots fired.

This graph tells us that you will see about 35 "good" shots until the point of aim starts to fall significantly due to use of gas. This compares to about 50 "good" shots for a QB78 in factory condition, but of course we're using more gas per shot to obtain the increased muzzle velocity. But it's still not a bad compromise for the increased power!

This testing was undertaken at 62 degrees Farenheit, that's why the muzzle velocity hovers in the 600 - 615 fps range for most of the shots. As with all CO2 guns, muzzle velocity increases with ambient temperature, in fact by about 2 fps per degree F. Had this test been undertaken at 85 degrees F (for example), the muzzle velocities would have been in the 645 - 660 fps range instead.

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These Crosman 160 clones are great. Who’da thunk it?!

Post by Ron Robinson:

Greetings fellow airgunners, and thank you Stephen for inviting me to participate in the Archer on Airguns blog. I appreciate the opportunity to share my opinions and experiences, and hope to contribute something(s) of value to the dialogue.

Long an aficionado of Crosman collectable airguns, I was both surprised and put-off that the Chinese would have the audacity to reproduce the highly-venerated, classic Crosman 160 and 167 models with the QB line of CO2 rifles. Such heresy! However, having failed to locate a .177 Crosman model 167, I soon had a QB77 Deluxe (clone) on order.

When the first three-shot group at fifty yards went into .30” center-to-center, I knew the QB was something special. The next two groups measured .40” and .50” center-to-center, converting me from disbeliever to QB devotee in less than ten shots!



Having proven my .22 Crosman 160 infatuation more than simply a nut-case obsession in silhouette competition, I felt the incredible accuracy displayed by my .177 QB had real potential for field-target competition… if not for its mediocre power and variable trajectory (with temperature fluctuation). When a few individuals began converting QBs to high-pressure air (HPA), I took immediate notice, and converted my own at the first opportunity.



The customized QB has well lived up to all expectations; most recently capturing a strong second place at the 2009 U.S. Field-Target National Championships in Hunter Class. That the first and third place Hunter rifles were the highest state-of-the art, competition-specific field-target rifles produced today, costing SIX TIMES that of my custom QB, vindicated my QB obsession as something more than just blind faith.

In reproducing the fine classic Crosman Model 160/167, Chinese industy has gifted American airgunners with not only an incredible (and incredible-shooting) bargain, but an awesome platform for customizations ranging from simple cosmetic make-over to world-class custom competition rifles. Who’da thunk it?!

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Ron Robinson Writes for Archer on Airguns.

If you’re interested in airguns, you’ve probably heard of Ron Robinson (AKA- The Manic Compressive). And now Ron will be writing for this blog as a guest blogger.

As a staunch enthusiast of classic Crosman airguns of the 1950s and 1960s, he believes that many of those vintage models were ahead of their time. Ron enjoys customizing them to realize their highest potential, and then pits them in competition against the highest state-of-the-art airguns produced today. By natural extension, he also also values the QB78 family of airguns...

And Ron can really shoot!


An air rifle and air pistol silhouette competitor since 1986, Ron is a five-time Texas State Silhouette Champion and a holder of four NRA National Record certificates in airgun silhouette. Ron’s Sporter Rifle state championship and both Sporter Rifle Team national records were captured with a 1950s vintage .22 Sears Ted Williams “Match Rifle” variant of the Crosman 160 CO2 rifle.


As an air rifle and air pistol field-target competitor since 2004, he is a three-time Texas State Champion (Hunter Rifle class, Scope Pistol class and Iron Sight Pistol Class). The Hunter Rifle championship was won with a QB77 Deluxe - a predecessor of the QB78 - converted to HPA, and the Scope Pistol championship was won with a 1960s vintage .22 Montgomery Wards Hawthorne variant of the Crosman 180 CO2 rifle (converted to pistol).

Ron’s been writing about airguns since 1987. His books include “The Manic Compressive”, “Airgun Hunting and Sport” and “A Sporting Proposition” (all now sadly out of print). He’s also been a contributor to most airgun periodicals ever printed in the U.S., including “Airgun News and Reports”, “U.S. Airgun”, “American Airgunner”, “Airgun Illustrated”, “Rimfire and Airgun Magazine” and “Airgun Hobby”. He is currently working on another airgun book to be offered in electronic format.

Ron is the past president of the Central Texas Airgun Club and is a current member of the Yegua Airgun Club as Coordinator and Match Director of air rifle, air pistol silhouette and air pistol field-target competitions at Yegua.

Welcome Ron!

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